


Life and Death of a Kunoichi

by Spring_Leaf



Series: A Study of Trees [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Career Ending Injuries, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, Strong Female Characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-04-12 09:05:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19128883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spring_Leaf/pseuds/Spring_Leaf
Summary: The story of Hatake Hikari, wife of Sakumo and mother of Kakashi.Set in the Branch A.U., can be read as a stand alone.





	1. The Start of it All

**Author's Note:**

> The implied sexual content is between characters that are sixteen. I'm European and in my country that is the age of consent. The tag Underage implies things that are really not happening in this story. 
> 
> That being said, enjoy!

_Seduction Squad Rule #1_  
_Your membership in the squad is voluntarily. You can leave at any time._

_Seduction Squad Rule #3_  
The lowest age at which you can start working in the squad is sixteen. Do not attempt to lie about your age, we will find out.

_Seduction Squad Rule #12_  
_You can have relationships outside of your missions. You can either tell the squad or not, it's your own business._

Hikari was the prettiest girl in class. She had inherited the best features of her parents, two hard working chûnin. Compared to some of the other children in her class, she was privileged. Her parents mostly worked in administration and were not only both alive and pretty well adjusted, but also in the village a lot and therefore, present in her life. Even if she didn't come from a clan like, for example, that Hatake boy in her class, her parents were able to provide her with a safe home and some extra-curricular shinobi education. But she did not have the extended family that came with a clan and the tutoring that all those family members could provide. So she wasn't the best student, not even the best girl in class, but she was the prettiest and she knew what kind of social power came with that.

Before she left the house she checked herself in the mirror once more, critically eyeing the seemingly effortless hairstyle she had gone with for today, a braid tucked up into a bun, with some strands falling out of it and framing her perfectly symmetrical face artfully. She practised raising one eyebrow separately, but couldn't get it to work. Then she smiled, only to adjust the widening of her mouth a bit to make her smile prettier. After she practised a few more expressions, she playfully snarled at her own reflection. Even her teeth looked nice! Not as sharp as the canines of Hatake, but nice. Even, straight, white. So what if they weren't sharp! She was only a second generation ninja!

In class, Hikari paid more attention to the subtle social shifts around her than to the lecture. She had tried to pay attention to what their teacher was saying, she really had! But two of the girls were having a friendship crisis right in front of her, how was she not supposed to watch that? 

“Hikari-chan?” her teacher asked.

Hikari looked up to their teacher. He was watching her expectingly. She felt her cheeks heat up slightly. 

“Yes?” she asked.

“Answer the question, please,” her teacher said.

“Could you repeat it?”

“I asked what trajectory the kunai had to be thrown at to reach target x. Pay attention.”

“Right, sorry” Hikari said and looked at the blackboard. There were some lines and numbers drawn on it. Was she supposed to know this? She held her breath for a moment and waited for her brain to supply an idea of what to do. Nope, nothing. She released her breath and turned big eyes filled with regret to her teacher.

“I'm sorry, sensei, I don't know.”

Her teachers expression softened ever so slightly. Yes! Success! Detention avoided!

“Pay better attention from here on out, okay?”

She let a beaming smile bloom on her face. “Of course, sensei!”

Later that day, after school was finished and she had indulged in some gossip as to what could have caused the newest drama in class, she excused herself from her friends with an excuse that her parents wanted her home early. But instead of going home, she ducked into an alley and doubled back to the academy. There, she went to the throwing range and started throwing kunai at the closest target. After a few misses, she finally hit the center.

“Hah! Take that theory! I don't need to know how to calculate where a kunai will land, I just need throw it right!”

“That works for stationary targets, but not for anything more complex,” a voice said from behind her. She whirled around. There stood Hatake, looking as judgemental and proper as ever. That brat, had he been watching her?!

“I'll show you! Fight me!” she yelled and jumped at him. It wasn't much of a fight. He had her face down in the dirt in a few seconds, his weight pinning her down. He smelled like dogs.

“You're not very good at this,” he had the gall to say as she breathed in dirt and tasted blood in her mouth from where she had bitten her lip. She tried looking up at him, but could only vaguely see his smug face.

“Well, not everyone has an entire clan to train them, you spoiled brat!” she yelled despite the dirt that got into her mouth.

“Rude! I'm only this strong because I use every resource available to me, which coincidently, includes my clan members, I won't deny that. But you don't get to complain when you don't even pay attention in class.”

“I got away with it anyway, because I'm beautiful! And I'm going to join the seduction squad once I'm old enough and use my beauty as a weapon, anyway!”

“For that you need to survive long enough to reach the age requirement, though.”

“I will!” she snarled and attempted to shake him off. It didn't work. She was about to put her head down into the dirt and scream in frustration when Hatake talked again.

“Do you want me to show you how to break this grapple?”

She did. Hatake helped her up and then tried to explain to her how the grapple worked. Her face was smeared with blood and dirt and she didn't even care as she listened to him attentively. But she didn't understand his explanation. As it turned out, she learned much better when seeing a technique or move in action and practically being able to replicate it. Sadly, this also meant she first had to learn how to do the grapple before she was able to learn how to break it. 

Somehow, it became a thing, the two of them meeting and training together. She stopped complaining about his privileged treatment because of his clan. He was working hard to be the best he could be, and she herself was also privileged in some ways. It didn't stop her from making jokes about him sharing his privilege with her.

“Watch what you teach me, if you tell me too much, you'll have to marry me!” she said at one point. 

“I haven't taught you enough to … Have I?” he asked.

“Have you what?” she asked back.

“Taught you clan secrets, enough that I'd have to marry you?”

She felt herself grow light headed. “You better not have! I'm way to young for that kind of commitment! Not that I would be opposed to marrying you, I mean you’re handsome and skilled and all, and come from a good family and would be considered a good match, but we're children!”

“I'm a good match?”

“Don't read too much into it.”

“Okay, I'll look up my clan law anyway. We can't get engaged on accident. If we do get married, I want to do that on purpose.”

“I want a summer wedding.”

“Winter. Summer is way to hot for the kind of clothing one wears at weddings”

They continued arguing back and forth, this day and the following days, until their imaginative wedding became a recurring topic of conversation and jokes between them. At that point, she wasn't actually thinking they'd ever get married.

They graduated the academy and were assigned to different genin teams. But that was fine, they still met up and trained whenever they found the time. Then, she had to kill for the first time and it was Hatake's shoulder she cried on. Two weeks later, their roles were reversed and he clung to her hand, tears streaming down his face, as he told her of the mission where he had to kill a human being for the first time. The war around them started claiming Hatake’s family members first and she was there at every funeral as his once big clan suddenly started shrinking. Then, her mother didn't come home from one of the few missions outside the village she was sent on. Her father fell two weeks later. She suspected he might have been careless because of grief and was mad at herself for not being there for him more, but there was nothing she could do now.

Hikari stayed a genin for the longest time, but Hatake quickly rose through the ranks. He reached jônin when they were fifteen and she kissed him as a promotion present. They were casually together from then on. Some of his fellow jônin gave him a hard time because of the rank difference between them, so she finally got herself promoted to chûnin. Then, she turned sixteen and finally joined the seduction squad. Hatake was happy for her, and also happy to let her practise what she learned there. But he insisted that she called him Sakumo from now on. She was fine with that, but only if he called her Hikari. They stayed casually together like this all through her time in the seduction squad. Sometimes, she told him of her missions and he told her of his. They stilled joked about getting married, but still weren't serious about it. She was sure. Maybe.

Then, everything changed.


	2. The End of a Career

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Facial injury and scarring. No graphic discriptions.

_Seduction Squad Rule #8_  
_Once you enter the squad you are required to finish the training program._

_Seduction Squad Rule #16_  
_You can set limits and restrictions on the kind of missions you can be sent on._

_Seduction Squad Rule #22_  
_Do not forget to keep your combat skills sharp._

Hikari was no longer pretty. There would be no more smiles that captured hearts, no more coy looks that made one forget their thoughts. Sitting on the hospital bed she held the mirror up to her face and looked at what was left of it. As soon as the attacks had hit her she had known that her career was over. Truth be told, she had thought her life was over. But here she was, at the Konoha hospital, with all her limbs present, if not intact. She'd never get back full dexterity of her right hand, not even enough to form hand signs. The medics had been able to save her left leg, but she would always walk with a pronounced limp. And there was hardly one of her inner organs that wasn't damaged. 

But somehow all of that didn't seem so horrible now that she looked at her face. Where once there had been plush lips was now a mess of scar tissue that was beginning to heal. It had been two slashes across her mouth and one across the ridge of her nose and eyebrow. She opened her mouth to look at the gap where she had lost three teeth. It hurt, moving her mouth. She'd have problems speaking for a while. Who was she, now that she was no longer beautiful?

At least she would be provided for by her own savings and the veteran fund. She could even get veteran housing. Her last years would be provided for. Because even if she had survived, the kind of injuries she had sustained would still cut her life short. The medic had given her another ten years, give or take. If she took it easy, did not strain herself and lived a healthy lifestyle. That sounded incredibly boring. No more fun, no more beauty, no more career. It looked like ten bleak years were ahead of her.

The door of her hospital room opened. Hiakri looked up and saw Sakumo standing in the door, still a bit dusty from the road. He was frozen there, staring at her, door handle still in hand and eyes unblinking. She felt the weak urge to cover the mess of her face, but he had already seen it. As soon as the medics gave their okay she would get a mask. The less people had to see her like this the better.

“Hikari”, he finally said weakly and stepped fully inside the room, closing the door behind him. Now she could also faintly smell the scents of sweat, dirt and dog he had brought with him. 

She lifted her left hand and singed in Konoha standard: “Mission gone wrong”

Sakumo sat down in the chair next to her bed. The chair creaked slightly from his weight. It was one of those old, uncomfortable ones. The light from the window was not very bright. It was a grey, cloudy day that felt like nothing at all. If it at least had been raining she would have felt a bit better. The sound of rain against the window was it's own form of comfort for her. Maybe the rain would have made her feel sad. She wished for rain. But the sky was just a dark grey.

“Yeah, I heard. I'm sorry. It's pretty bad, huh?”, he finally said.

Even if her mouth still hurt when speaking, the next thing she did say out loud. Maybe because signing it would have taken too long, or because it just slipped out before she could really think about it. “You're not gonna marry me like this”, she said.

“Of course I would”, he said. She looked over to him. His face was much too expressive for a shinobi. She was sure it wasn't like this when he was on missions. It couldn't be this open then or he'd not be this successful in his career. He looked so sincere, so compassionate right now. That was why she did not ask if he was serious. Instead she simply said: “Please.”

They got married not much later. She wore a mask during the ceremony to hide her facial scars from the guests. She continued wearing a mask in public.

At this point in time Sakumo and Hikari were the only Hatake clan members left. And Hikari knew that she would not live a long life. As an active shinobi, death was a constant threat for Sakumo as well. It was a common companion in their lifestyle. But even still, Hikari did not wish for the Hatake clan to end with Sakumo. Or for Sakumo to be alone after she died. She asked him if he'd like to have a child with her. He did not need any convincing. Her medic however did. 

“Hatake-san, this is a really bad idea. A pregnancy is definitely a strain on the body, and a birth much more so. Having a baby would cut down your life expectancy a lot”

“By how much?”, she asked.

“Twenty-five to seventy-five percent. Or you could die during childbirth, that is something that even happens to healthy women. I strongly discourage you from doing this”

But see, Hikari didn't have that long to live anymore to begin with. If in that time she could experience having a baby, maybe even see the baby grow up a year or two, that would be wonderful. And she really really wanted something of her to remain on this world. Some sort of legacy. Someone else to be around Sakumo. 

She did tell Sakumo that he could potentially be a single father from the moment the baby was born. She also told him most of what the medic had said to her. He was concerned, but respected her decision. It took a while until she got pregnant. During the pregnancy she felt like her medic was always hovering over her shoulder. Her limp grew much worse with the added weight. Her back ached constantly. Once she threw up in her mask, which was very gross. She had a caesarean section and survived. Holding her son, seeing his scrunched up little face and the flimsy flasks of silver hair on his head was the best experience in her life.

How Sakumo had convinced her to name the child Kakashi was not something she told people. Usually she said he had caught her in a weak moment. The truth was that she thought the name was funny. Hatake Kakashi. Field Scarecrow. With that kind of name, he had to become an awesome ninja. Hopefully he also would have a good life. It remained to be seen how much of her baby's life she would be there for.


	3. The End of a Life

_Seduction Squad Rule #2_   
_Every mission you take is voluntarily. You have the right to turn down every mission. Once you accept the mission you are expected to fulfil it, but exceptions can be made._

_Seduction Squad Rule #25_   
_When you get married you automatically leave the squad. That is because we understand marriage as done with an intention to sire heirs, which missions would make complicated._

_Seduction Squad Rule #30_   
_If you can no longer work in the squad because of health reasons you are provided for by the usual veteran shinobi fund._

Taking care of a baby was as demanding as Hikari had been warned it would be. But Hikari had been an active shinobi before and knew how to deal with interrupted sleep and somewhat elated stress levels. Her medic still watched her like a hawk but had to admit that Hikari was dealing well with motherhood. 

Kakashi was a source of constant wonder for her. Every day it seemed like he changed a little bit, like he learned something knew or grew another inch. She watched his baby blue eyes turn a dark grey and his flimsy silver hair grow into out into an untameable mess. Apparently he had inherited Sakumo's hair. She saw his eyes focus on the world around him and heard him form sounds, saw him turn on his belly and on his back and start crawling. The first elation of seeing her baby reach that milestone turned into quiet dread as he was suddenly incredibly mobile and got into everything. She only had to take her eyes off him for a moment and he could already be out of the room and emptying out a closet. Hikari then child proofed the house, which bought her some piece again. For all of three weeks, when Kakashi had somehow managed to open the mechanisms meant to keep him out of the cupboards and drawers. Hikari had limped into the kitchen only to see her little baby sitting in front of the supposedly locked cupboard, child and floor alike covered in rice flour, still waving an empty bag in his hand.

“Kakashi”, she said sternly, “What are you doing?”

Her little boy looked up to her with big innocent eyes and said cheerfully: “Mama!”

It was his first word. Instead of scolding him like she had planned, Hikari awkwardly knelt down next to him and hugged him, rice flour and all. When Sakumo came back the next day, Kaakshi greeted him with “Papa”.

During all this time, Sakumo continued taking short-term missions that were supposed to make a bit of a cushion for the time in the future where he would be Kakashi's only parent. Thus Sakumo missed quite a few of those milestones, but nevertheless Kakashi always went into his arms readily when Sakumo came home. Sakumo loved spending time with his son as much as Hikari did. Hikari also loved watching the two of them, loved seeing how much her husband loved their child. It reassured her that Sakumo would not be alone once she was gone. 

After the two of them had put Kakashi to sleep that night she sat down on the patio with Sakumo and took his hand. The moon was shining his light from a clear, cloudless sky and the first cicadas were chirring. A light summer breezed drafted in from the garden, bringing with it the first smells of summer. Maybe it would be her last summer.

“We need to talk about the future. I won't be here forever, we both know that.”, she said, as she looked out at their moonlight garden.

“Are you feeling worse?”, he asked, looking at her.

“Slowly and steadily, yes. I'm afraid once Kakashi will figure out walking I won't be able to keep up. My leg is getting worse, as are my arm and back. When he gets any heavier I won't be able to carry him anymore.”

“I can stay home and take care of him.”

“Maybe that would be good. My medic gives me another year. “

“Ah, that I good to know. One more cycle of the seasons?”

“Yes. I wonder what I will see Kakashi learning in that time. He seems to be developing fast, don't you think?”

“I'm not an expert on babies, I don't know. But I'll try y best to teach him as much as possible in that last year.”

“Thank you, Sakumo”, she said and looked him in the eyes, “Once I'm dead, I want you to look for someone else to be with”

“Hikari-”, he protested.

“No, listen to me. I want you to be happy. Grieve me, but then look for someone. I know you're miserable when you're alone.”

“I have Kakashi now”

“Kakashi is a baby. You need at least some adult company in your life. Trust your instincts. If you see someone and the opportunity arises, go talk to them. Promise me”

He promised.

Hikari watched her husband take care of their child more and more as she felt weaker and weaker, watched Kakashi learn to walk and talk, to run and climb on trees, to ask questions and demand answers. She saw two more summers and lived to see her son turn two. When she lied on her bed that autumn, her body heavy from the pain medicine and feeling her end approaching, she held Kakashi, who was curled up on her bed and watching her with big scared eyes. She smiled, her scarred lips hidden underneath her mask.

“Remember that I love you.”, she told her son. Then she looked up to Sakumo.

“Remember that I love you too.”, she told her husband, “And remember your promise. Be happy, both of you”

Hikari Hatake died.


End file.
